STRIPS of paper, three feet wide and less than one thirty-second of an inch in thickness, have increased the production of pineapples in the Hawaiian Islands by more than forty per cent. Laid in a field of sun-grown Sumatra tobacco, in Florida, the same kind of paper increased production more than fifty per cent.

LOU SENARENS developed many outlandish and queer vessels for Frank Reade, the hero of one of his groups of nickel novelettes. One of these mysterious vessels was an automobile which could travel on land, in the water, or under the water, under its own power, and, strange as it may seem, such a combination craft has actually been invented and constructed by Michel Andre of France.

SOON after water was turned on in a great pipe line in Colorado, trouble began with the joints. There were several hundred of them, all told, twenty-seven being in tunnels through the rock. In some cases, the sand nearby was caught up by the water jets, hydraulic sand blasts were created, and threatened with their cutting power the very integrity of the pipe and rivets.

THE OLD SCOTTISH SPORT OF CURLING IS WINNING NEW FANS IN AMERICA THERE’S none of the fire that goes with brimstone in this broom and stone game called curling—one of the oldest and most baffling man-devised sports on ice. In its essentials, this ancient Scottish pastime is like bowling or shuffleboard except that it requires much more finesse and subtlety than both.

In the early 90’s Showtime had a short-lived show called Kurt Vonnegut’s Monkey House, actually hosted by Vonnegut that showed productions of his short stories.

The Foster Portfolio

My business is handling other people’s money, and I have a great respect for money.

But how could I help a man like Herbert Foster, who had such an odd feeling about it?

By KURT VONNEGUT, Jr.

I’M a salesman of good advice for rich people. I’m a contact man for an investment counseling firm. It’s a living, but not a whale of a one —or at least not now, when I’m just starting out. To qualify for the job, I hud to buy a Homburg, a navy-blue overcoat, a double-breasted banker’s-gray suit, black shoes, a regimental-stripe tie, half a dozen white shirts, half a dozen pairs of black socks and gray gloves.

HERE’S a meal that’s going to keep them exclaiming. A most excellent dinner from —did someone say “from soup to nuts”? Nothing so commonplace, if you please. From Clam-Juice Cocktail to Floating Heart Montmorency is more like it! And in between, delicious Spaghetti Caruso, Lamb Chops Vanderbilt prepared in smartly different fashion, and a Romaine Salad fragrant with luscious fruit. A novelty menu, yet inexpensive and simple.

I’m not certain, but I’d guess that if the question is “How do you shoot down a missile going 1,200 miles per hour with a gun, in 1954?” the answer is: you don’t.

HOW TO HIT A SUPERSONIC MISSILE in flight?

An enemy guided missile comes winging towards our task force … at speeds of up to 20 miles a minute. What kind of computer can predict and compute the necessary data fast enough to shoot down the missile… and be reliable every time? That was the problem posed to Ford Instrument Company engineers… and in cooperation with the Navy, they found the answer. Compact equipment, housed in easy-to-service units… that stand at the front line of our defense.

YOUNG men standing on the threshold of their careers often say, “Opportunity is dead. There aren’t the chances for making money that there once were.” No assumption could be more false. It is always true that the chances of a man’s making a huge fortune are highly problematical.

Vintage Versions of Modern Technology - { […] This photograph comes from a magazine article published in 1956 about the future of phones talks about audio/video data compression and voice recognition as... }